


Parsel

by prongslette (bambiewitch)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Author Is Sleep Deprived, Harry Potter Has a Pet Snake, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, M/M, Meddling Albus Dumbledore, Parseltongue, Possessive Tom Riddle, Possible smut, Time Travel, Time Travelling Harry Potter, WIP, Young Tom Riddle, harry gets a baby occamy, probably going to be two or three parts, this was meant to be a short one-shot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:53:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26884690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bambiewitch/pseuds/prongslette
Summary: There's something about the new student that draws Tom's interest. When he asked his Knights to follow him and report back, he certainly didn't expect this. Harry wishes that just once, he could NOT screw something up by accident.His wish doesn't come true.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Tom Riddle
Comments: 50
Kudos: 499





	1. Harry Acquires a Snake

There was something about the new student that made him... different, in Tom’s eyes. He arrived as a Hogwarts student late, entering into sixth year, yet he seemed perfectly at ease within its stone walls. Sure, he got lost every now and then, and he needed directions to new classrooms or the library, but Tom couldn’t help but feel the boy knew exactly where he was at all times. He was too familiar with quiet routes nobody else took and he seemed to have a knack for finding secret passageways going wherever he needed to be. It was infuriating. Tom, in his endeavour to rediscover the Chamber of Secrets, had done more than his fair share of exploring the dusty corners of the castle, inspecting behind every statue for secret rooms, or an entrance to the hidden proof of his heritage. Finding the entrance in the girl’s bathroom? Tom was equally frustrated as he was bewildered. How on earth was he supposed to sneak into the Chamber without being seen? Or worse, labelled a pervert for hanging around the girl’s loo?

It didn’t come much as a surprise to his Knights when Tom ordered them to follow the new student, Harry Evans or something, and gauge his potential. As a mudblood- a halfblood at best, easily recognised by the unknown surname- he would never become one of his inner circle, but he might still have uses. If nothing else, he’d be useful for traversing the school in secret. He didn’t expect much to be reported, after all, Evans was a textbook loner who spent most of his time outside by the Lake or in the Library. What secrets could the mediocre mudblood possibly be hiding, Tom reasoned. The ghostly pallor of Avery’s face as he knelt before him in the Room of Requirement was his first sign that perhaps he had misjudged the teen. Their meetings were held every fortnight and mostly consisted of his Knights reporting on their subtle recruitment efforts or offering services from their families in a bid to climb the hierarchy.

“Report, Avery?” Tom drawled, unimpressed with the trembling figure.

“My lord,” Avery began, glancing nervously at Lestrange. “We followed Evans like you requested.”

Tom sneered. “I do hope you have more to tell me than that.” Avery gulped. Really, Tom thought, he was acting quite out of character- Avery was generally the quintessential pureblood heir. Tom was inwardly curious as to the reason for his demeanour.

“My lord, he... we followed him for a few days and saw nothing strange, but earlier this evening his schedule- changed.” Avery said. He nodded to Lestrange.

“Evans was accosted by Dumbledore on his way back from the Library.” Lestrange continued smoothly, much better composed than his fellow Knight. A hint of a sneer bled through his words at the mention of the professor. Tom couldn’t blame him- it was well known to those in Slytherin that Tom Riddle simply despised the old man. “Dumbledore seemed to be attempting to recruit Evans for a task, but Evans just brushed him off. I’ve never seen anyone so blasé about it before.”

“Interesting... though it doesn’t explain the pitiful state Avery is in.” Tom replied, hiding his intrigue behind the bland mask he always showed. Evans disliked the Transfiguration professor, hmm? Perhaps there was some hope for him yet.

“Yes, my lord. It was... quite chilling. Evans continued on down the passageway, leaving Dumbledore behind. He stopped outside the Forbidden Forest. We expected him to turn around or even venture in like a fool, but he glanced around as if to check for anybody nearby and then he... he hissed, my lord.” Avery straightened his back as he spoke. There was nothing his Lord hated more than cowardice.

Tom had frozen to his chair. “Hissed?”

“He appeared to be speaking to a creature. We couldn’t see it, but he would hiss, pause to listen, and then continue as if he were having a regular conversation.” Avery hesitated for a long moment. “My lord... it sounded like when you speak parseltongue.”

Tom’s nostrils flared and his knuckles whitened around the arms of the chair. How was it possible? He was the last of the Slytherin line, he was certain! Was Evans pretending? Surely he couldn’t actually speak the serpent’s tongue. “Get out. I have a mudblood to speak with.” Tom spoke finally, his voice like ice.

Lestrange and Avery exchanged quick glances and tactfully retreated. They’d only ever seen their Lord this upset after Dumbledore’s interference, and those incidents often ended painfully for anyone slow to obey. They would speak with him in the morning, they reasoned. For now, it was time to book it and leave some other poor sod to bear his anger.

Tom waited for his Knights to disappear and then furiously hurled the papers and assortment of items on the table before him to the ground. “Impossible!” He hissed. “He cannot be another descendant. The Gaunt line died out!” Stilling, Tom exhaled deeply, purposefully unclenching his hands. He would corner the offending Gryffindor and teach him a lesson. A dark smile tugged at his lips. _It’s not like he’s going to go running to Dumbledore, is it?_

-*-*-

When Harry had agreed to this charade of a plan, he had assumed that there would be some kind of benefit to his completion of it. He had thought that travelling back in time (dangerous enough as it is) would be worth it if he could just stop Voldemort before things got out of hand. Sirius wouldn’t have to die, Dumbledore wouldn’t be dying from the curse on the horcrux, and his parents could live to celebrate their twenty-second birthdays. Things weren’t as simple as Dumbledore had made them sound. Of course, this wasn’t an unusual occurrence, but he’d never been impacted by his overly-positive disposition in such a manner before.

Harry was trapped fifty years in the past, alone, on a quest to prevent the creation of Voldemort’s first horcrux. Simple in theory, more difficult in execution. Especially as he’d arrived one year later than he should have. Harry had been devastated when he discovered that Myrtle was already dead. His one task, failed before he could even attempt to save her! There must have been an error in the intricate runes that Dumbledore and Snape, of all people, had meticulously drawn out in pale blue chalk. A smudge that changed the timing just a fraction. What was he meant to do now?

Harry had posed that very question to Dumbledore upon his discovery. He’d been vague enough- telling the Headmaster than he’d been sent back by his future self, a code of the name “Arianna” was enough for Dumbledore to believe him, but something went awry and he arrived too late. Albus had smiled over his half moon glasses and told him that he “could still make a difference, dear boy” as if Harry’s explanation had completely missed him. Harry decided then that the Headmaster- or Transfiguration professor, right now- wouldn’t be of any help in either getting him back to his proper time or the completion of his original mission.

Harry watched from afar and marvelled at the skilled manipulations that Riddle manoeuvred with ease. Slughorn and his other teachers were practically eating out of his hand, not to mention the perfect image he’d cultivated among his peers. It was a little sickening, honestly. Weeks went by and Harry did his best to avoid the younger boy as much as possible. Though he was only a fifth year, Harry had no disillusions that Tom wouldn’t prove almost as dangerous as his future self if the occasion called for it. The raven-haired teen instead spent as much time researching as he could. There were a few theories that he recognised had been used in the ritual to send him here, but they were all incomplete this far into the past. Frustrated with his lack of progress, Harry had stalked from the Library with the intention of breathing in some fresh air by the lake. The stuffy air in the room was beginning to give him a headache.

He was walking along the edge of the Forbidden Forest on a trail he’d followed frequently in his own time when he was accosted by a swearing and flailing ball of fury. Stumbling back in surprise, it took a moment for Harry to realise that the large scaly creature was speaking to him.

“ _Dissgussting two-legss!_ ” It cried, rearing back into an ‘s’ shape he knew meant a strike was imminent. It’s scales were a beautiful blue-green and shimmered in the dappled light. It had dark violet wings, a feathered crest and a sharp beak, baffling Harry, who had never been great at identifying magical creatures.

“ _I’m ssorry! I didn’t mean to dissturb you, I didn’t ssee you or your nesst, or whatever I did to upsset you._ ” Harry said quickly, wincing as the snake- for it appeared to be one, despite the feathery wings flared in his direction- suddenly coiled around his leg instead of attacking.

“ _A sspeaker? I’ve never met one before,_ ” it mused, forked tongue tickling his skinny calf as it scented him. _“I ssupposse I can forgive you for invading my territory. Tell me, sspeaker, why do you carry the sscent of the Sserpent Queen?”_

Harry blinked. “ _Sserpent Queen? Oh! I was bitten by an ancient Sserpent Queen that tried to sslay me, but a Phoenix cried on my wound and I lived. Sshe bit me ass I plunged my ssword through her brain._ ” The serpent slackened it’s tight hold upon his leg in what appeared to be surprise. He tried to extricate his limb from its coils, but it recovered quickly and slithered up to squeeze along his waist and left thigh.

“ _You are sstrange, sspeaker, but if you truly managed to defeat the Queen Sserpent, you are worthy to have my kin._ ”

“ _I-I’m ssorry?_ ” Harry stuttered, wondering when his stroll had gone so wrong. Maybe Hermione was right and he did attract trouble after all.

“ _My clutch will hatch ssoon, and you sshall take one of my kin ass your familiar._ ” The snake replied, sounding very pleased with itself. Before Harry could do more than splutter at the thought of keeping a winged snake as his familiar, seriously, he wasn’t a Slytherin!, the snake decided that the conversation was over. Harry watched in disbelief as the serpent retreated back down onto the forest floor and shrunk to half its previous size, slithering into a mossy hole that he guessed its clutch was hidden in. _Okay, what the hell just happened?_

Harry returned to the Forest path a week later, having detoured in his research to figure out just what he was getting into. An occamy, apparently. They were supposed to be an endangered species and Harry was slightly surprised that there would be any in Britain, let alone right next to Hogwarts. He had run into Dumbledore again on his way from the Library and the strange conversation he’d had kept circling his mind.

He’d been in a hurry, realising that “soon” wasn’t a great indication of when the occamies would hatch and he might have missed it already. This in mind, Harry had been a tad impatient when the professor ‘happened to run into him’ on his way. Dumbledore had, in the meandering way he liked to speak, tried to invite him for tea in his office to discuss ‘the task’ Harry was undertaking. The teenager had grimaced and attempted to sidle off with a, “I’m sorry, Professor, but there’s something I really have to be doing right now.” It hadn’t worked.

Dumbledore again commented that he “had _plenty of time_ for other pursuits, surely” and wasn’t that a back-handed comment? Impatient and now more than a little irritated, Harry had (somewhat immaturely) flashed a fake smile and said, “Another time, sir!” Before half-sprinting down the corridor. He didn’t have time for this!

Arriving on the Forest edge, he glanced around quickly, not really expecting anyone to have followed him, so when he didn’t spot anything suspicious he turned to the mossy nest. “Um, hello?” Harry recognised that he sounded like an idiot. What if the occamy wasn’t even in the nest right now?

“ _Sspeaker!_ ” Came his reply. The occamy was speaking softly, “ _You are in time to ssee my youngesst hatch._ ” Harry couldn’t help the grin that lit his face up. He’d read that occamy eggs were made of pure silver- he was sure that watching one hatch would be an impressive sight.

“ _I am honoured_.”

The snake nudged an ovular egg towards the entrance of the nest so that he could see it. Deep cracks were splintering in the beautiful silver surface of the egg in a crooked spider-web. A tiny beak punctured the shell and a glistening little head emerged. Harry couldn’t help but coo at the sight. “ _Aren’t you jusst gorgeouss?_ ” As he leant forward to get a better look, a soft crunching noise behind him had him whip around in an instant, wand ready. Eyes narrowed, Harry swore as he glimpsed the unnatural-glimmer of a moving disillusionment charm. Who had seen him, and more importantly, had they heard him?

“ _Sspeaker?_ ” The occamy’s voice drew his attention.

“ _Ssomebody followed me. Nobody knowss that I can sspeak the sserpent’ss tongue, I am worried they heard me._ ” Harry explained, rubbing his forehead. What a mess. " _Your nest should be ssafe, don't worry_." He knelt down again and saw that the hatchling was fully freed of its egg now. “ _Hello, little one._ ” He laughed in surprised delight as the baby occamy fluttered it’s wings at his voice and tried to wrap around his wrist.

“ _Sshe is yourss now, sspeaker. Keep her ssafe or you will ansswer to ssomething more viciouss than the Sserpent Queen._ ” The grown occamy hissed.

“ _I undersstand, I will guard her with my life. I promisse you thiss._ ” Harry murmured. He only had eyes for the little snake curling around his fingers with hissy laughs that warmed his heart. “ _Sshe iss perfect._ ” The teenager watched as the little occamy retreated back into its nest, apparently satisfied, and stood with his precious charge cradled to his chest.

“ _What sshould I name you, hmm?_ ” 

-*-*-

Tom was furious. It had been two days since his Knights had confessed hearing Evans speaking parseltongue and yet he still hadn’t been able to corner the Gryffindor. Evans was impossible to catch- every time he followed him around a corner, knowing it was a dead-end ahead, he would have disappeared before Tom could even see his escape. Not today, Evans. Tom had a plan. It was the last ten minutes of potions given his quick completion of the assigned brew it was easy to charm Slughorn into letting him go early. He knew from Avery that Evans was currently in DADA so he made his way up to the Defense classroom as quickly as he could without appearing rushed. He had a reputation, after all.

Tom couldn’t help the satisfied gleam from reaching his face when Evans’ wise green eyes met his own. Frozen in the doorway, Evans glanced past Tom as if he was genuinely considering booking it. “I hope you don’t mind, Evans.” He smirked, “I was hoping for a word with you.”

Evans grimaced and bit his cheek. “S’ppose I don’t have much of a choice.” Tom was almost offended at how dismayed the teenager sounded.

“Come along, then.” He drawled, raising a dark brow. “Let’s talk somewhere a little more... private.”

Evans, visibly reluctant, followed Tom down the corridor towards an abandoned classroom. His classmates watched the interaction curiously and Tom was well aware that if they hadn’t been present Evans likely would have run. Stopping outside the door, Tom smiled pleasantly. “After you.”

Evans looked even more uncomfortable but did as he was bid. Tom closed the door softly behind him and stalked towards the shorter teen. Evans’ verdant eyes were blown wide as he tilted his head back to match Tom’s predatory gaze. He staggered back half a step. “L-look, Riddle, I’m sure whatever it is that you want you could get it from someone else.” Evans stammered. Tom grinned darkly as he pushed the boy into the stone wall. The teen flinched but quickly steeled himself.

“Oh, no. You see, Evans, I heard the most interesting tale about you.” Tom purred, leaning further into the raven-haired boy until he was pressed against him. “ _I heard that you were... talking with a ssnake_.” Evans winced.

“ _N-no, that’ss ridiculouss. How could I-_ “ he froze suddenly. “Fuck!” He hissed, scrunching his face up. “Goddamnit, Riddle, what do you want?”

Tom’s eyes widened a fraction. He really could speak parseltongue! “How do you do it?” He snarled, pressing his wand firmly into Evans’ side. “You can’t be descended from Slytherin, I’m the last one!”

“It’s a- long story.” Evans said, recoiling beneath his stormy gaze. “Look, just, let go of me and I’ll explain things as best I can, yeah?” Tom narrowed his eyes for a moment but soon decided that there wasn’t much Evans could do.

“Fine.” He said shortly, abruptly releasing the older teen and snorting derisively when he almost fell. “Now explain.”

Evans bit his lip. “I... was attacked by a dark wizard when I was little. He killed my parents and tried to kill me but something went wrong.” Tom watched, transfixed as the slip of a youth suddenly straightened, a fire entering his eyes. “He left something behind when he attacked me. That’s all I know. Are you happy now, Tom?” Evans practically growled.

That... certainly wasn’t what Tom had expected to hear. He paused, suddenly noticing the reddened scar upon the other boy’s brow. “What’s this?” He murmured, gaze wholly focused upon it. Something about the scar almost... called to him. Something familiar. Ignoring Evans’ panicked pleas, he found himself pressing his index finger to the scar. He felt an electric pulse against his touch, something he’d only ever felt once before...

_“Oh, Harry... what do we have here?”_


	2. A Startling Discovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tom makes a discovery that shocks Harry to the core.

“ _...what do we have here?_ ”

Harry bit his tongue fiercely, absently noting the copper flavour of blood, as he did his best to wrench Riddle away from him while his shoulder was held in a tight grip. His scar was searing into his forehead and he hissed as he felt a trickle of blood drip onto his cheek. Riddle slid his arms down Harry’s own, tightly gripping his arms to keep him from fighting back. 

“Riddle- let me the _fuck_ go!” Harry snarled, elbowing the taller boy hard in the stomach when Tom attempted to force him into a faux-embrace. Riddle yelped (something he’d deny forever) and let go of Harry’s forearms. Harry knew it was painful, as he’d perfected it to use against Dudley when he was in a punching-mood. 

Freed, Harry bolted, shoulder colliding with the teen’s and knocking the younger boy to the floor. 

“Hey, stop!” Riddle cried angrily, scrambling to his feet, “Get back here, Harry!” Harry ignored him and flung the door open, sprinting down the empty corridor. If he could just get around the corner, he knew there was a hidden passage-

“ _Immobolus_!” Tom snarled from the doorway, chest heaving. Harry froze mid-stride and collapsed to the stone floor. Tom stalked to the limp body and crouched beside him. “That’s better.” 

He ignored the death glare he received- those eyes really did resemble the killing curse in colour, too- ruffling the messy dark hair with his slender fingers. Tom hefted the light frame of his... something... into his arms. It was lucky that Harry was so skinny or he mightn’t have been able to carry him. Harry fit nicely into his embrace, he decided. 

“Now, what to do with you?” Tom pondered. “You’ll have to come with me, but I don’t particularly wish for my Knights to see you... the Room of Requirement, then.” He adjusted his hold on the teen into an almost bridal carry, raising his brows in surprise when he noticed a finger twitch despite his spell. “Powerful, aren’t you?” Tom smiled down at his cargo. “Sorry about this. _Stupefy!”_

Harry’s unconscious head rolled back to rest on his slim shoulder. Tom took a moment to admire the teenager- he was quite handsome, really. Especially when he got fired up about something. It was a pity it took such a confrontation for him to notice. He took every shortcut he knew and successfully arrived at the Room of Requirement in only a few minutes. 

Tom gently laid Harry’s limp form onto a deep emerald lounge, pausing to consider restraints. Harry Evans certainly packed a punch- yes, perhaps he’d better. A flick of his wand later, thin silver cords encircled thin wrists and ankles. They were loose currently but could tighten and constrain if need be. With one last glance to the other boy, Tom turned his attention to the cabinet he knew kept his horcrux safe and hidden. 

It was locked, as per usual, and he carefully pricked his finger and dropped the crimson bead onto the lock. It flashed briefly and clicked open, allowing him to retrieve his diary. An electric shock tingled down his hand and he shook his head in confusion. 

Why did Harry Evans react like a horcrux- _his_ horcrux? He said he’d been attacked by a dark wizard... surely he didn’t mean Tom? But then who else could speak parseltongue? It fit for the “piece left behind” to be a horcrux, that at least Tom was certain of. He seated himself across from the source of his dilemma and stroked the cover of his diary. It prickled his fingertips.

Just who _was_ Harry Evans?  
  


-*-*-

Harry awoke and stared in confusion at the domed ceiling for a moment. This wasn’t the dorm ceiling, where had he been- oh Merlin, Riddle had...

He leapt to his feet, gasping when silver cords suddenly forced his ankles together and he almost toppled over. He was saved by a warm hand grasping his upper arm and tugging Harry’s back into a solid chest. He glanced up and huffed. Tom goddamn Riddle. Of course. 

Tom merely raised a brow and helped (forced) him back onto the seat. “I’m sorry about the ropes but for obvious reasons I thought you might try something like that.” 

Harry glared at him, “What now, Riddle? People are going to notice I’m missing.” He actually doubted they would, but bluffing was his best chance right now. 

“Ah, I’m afraid I doubt that, Harry.” _Damn it._ “With your habits you likely won’t be noticed missing for quite some hours yet. Plenty of time for us to finish that chat, yes?” Riddle actually had the nerve to pat him on the head, like he was an errant puppy, before splaying himself comfortably on the other chaise. _Asshole,_ Harry thought sulkily. 

Harry exhaled roughly. “What do you even want? I speak parseltongue, whatever. That doesn’t mean you need to kidnap me and keep me tied up.” He narrowed his eyes when Tom’s lips twitched. 

Tom decided to take pity on the pouty teen, although he was sure Harry didn’t realise how put out he looked. _Kind of cute_ , his brain supplied. _Shut up_ , he answered. “Tell me Harry, have we met before?” Tom watched the other boy carefully and leant forward, tapping his fingers when he noticed the badly hidden wince. “We have... a bad experience too, it seems.” 

Harry was panicking more than a little at this point. “N-no!” Maybe he should have met with Dumbledore after all- it couldn’t possibly have ended as badly as this was going. “Why would you think that anyway?” 

Tom was a little too close for comfort, now, and he screwed his eyes shut on instinct when his captor whispered in his ear. “Oh Harry... how else would you be carrying a part of my soul?”

Harry blanched. “No, no no no. I don’t! I’m not- I can’t be!” He hardly noticed when he started to tremble. It just couldn’t be! Although, Dumbledore had once told him that he ‘carried a piece of Voldemort’...

“Oh, _fuck_.” Harry whispered, and blinked quickly. His whole mission had been to prevent the creation of or destroy horcruxes, was he expected to destroy the one inside him as well? 

Tom’s brow furrowed as Harry lost all colour in his face, seemingly not even noticing his quiet mumbling of “no, no no no, oh fuck no, surely he wouldn’t-“ honestly, the teen looked ready to pass out. 

“Harry?” Tom pressed. Harry’s wide green eyes snapped up to his. “I’m quite certain that we’d never met before this, so would you kindly explain how you ended up as my horcrux?”

Harry laughed breathily. He was fucked anyways, right? Might as well go the whole mile. At least Riddle has always been happy to try and kill him- less work for Harry. “A dark wizard killed my parents and tried to kill me,” he said, locking his eyes to Tom’s slightly confused ones. 

“I just said that we’d never met-“

“On October 31st, 1980.”

“Pardon?” Tom breathed, nose flaring. Harry grinned humourlessly.

“You cast the killing curse at baby-me and it rebounded. Nobody knows why. You spent the next eleven years as a bodiless wraith. You used my blood in a ritual to gain a body- you look half snake too, gross- and continued to terrorise Wizarding Britain. We thought that going back could help us win the war with less casualties. Instead I just found out the Boy-Who-Lived has been destined to die his whole life. Ironic, isn’t it?” Harry looked away as he spoke, unconsciously rubbing at his scarred forearm. “Then again, at least I’ll get to see Sirius again...” he murmured to himself, ignoring the fierce ache that he always felt when he thought of his godfather. 

Tom was, for lack of a proper word, gobsmacked. He’d _what?!_ How on earth did he fall so far from grace? To attempt to murder _a_ _baby?_ He didn’t even want to dwell on the life changing information Harry casually threw out after that first revelation. Something else did catch his attention though. “Harry? Harry!” It took a few attempts before the raven-haired teen showed his face. 

“What?” Harry sighed, rubbing his head. To think his plan for the day had simply been to retrieve his newly named occamy, Sareen, from her mother and find her a safe place to stay while he was in class. 

“What did you mean when you said you’d see ‘Sirius’ again?” Tom said in a cool tone. Harry blinked tiredly. 

“Uh, my godfather. He... died last year. It’s pretty obvious, I’m a horcrux. There’s no way to stop Voldemort if I live and I’m not so selfish I’d choose myself over everyone else.” Harry said, pausing as he noticed the icy glare aimed at him. “Tom?”

Tom stood abruptly and yanked at Harry’s hair, tilting his head to the side. 

“Ouch!” 

He snarled into the teen’s ear. “And what makes you think that I’d let you go, Harry?” 

Harry hesitated. “I-you’ve never had a problem trying to kill me before,” he stammered. Somehow, maybe it was the cozy room they were in, the expensive furniture or the calm conversation, he’d forgotten that he was currently talking to Voldemort. “Look- I’m not your horcrux anyway. I’m future-you’s horcrux. It won’t affect you in the slightest if I leave- _ow_!” 

Tom yanked the raven strands again and brought his face far closer than it needed to be to inspect Harry’s wide emerald eyes. “I don’t think you understand, dear Harry.” He whispered. “Perhaps my future self isn’t so inclined, but I take very good care of my things. You’re not going anywhere.”

Harry scoffed in disbelief. “You don’t own me, Riddle, you can’t just decide something like that-“

“Can’t I?” Tom mused, sliding his hand from the dark mop of hair to cup Harry’s jaw. 

“N-no, you can’t.” Harry tried to hide the shiver that crept down his spine at the gentle caress, but judging by Tom’s shark-like grin he didn’t succeed. He huffed and smacked the offending limb away, ignoring Tom’s expression- he’d call it a pout, but it honestly felt wrong to label young Voldemort with such a word. “Look,” Harry reasoned, “I can’t stay even if I wanted to. I’m going to find a way back, I’m needed there.”

Tom’s expression darkened. “You need to die, you mean.” Harry shrugged helplessly. 

“It’s not like I’m happy about it!” He retorted, waving his arm in frustration. “If there was a way for me to stop Voldemort and not die I’d take it! I just can’t see that being a possibility now.”

Pale blue eyes watched him closely. “Would you stay if you could?” Tom asked quietly. Harry was struck by the solemn tone. 

“I... I’d miss my friends, Tom. My second godfather, he’s the last of his friends left. I couldn’t abandon him.” Harry said. Tom’s expression didn’t waver, but that somehow made him feel even worse. “You don’t really need me here, anyway. I’m sure you’ll find someone else to stalk in no time,” he joked but it fell flat. 

“You really don’t get it, do you?” Tom whispered. Harry’s brow furrowed. 

“What?”

“You’re special.” Tom said, holding eye contact as he reached for Harry’s thin forearm and began to trace invisible patterns along it. “Something about you just... calls to me.” Noticing the other teen open his mouth to retort, he scoffed. “No, not just because of the horcrux. Maybe that’s what caught my attention at first, but the more I watch you the more I find.”

Harry grimaced. He’d had enough of being ‘special’ in his own time. “Tom-“ 

“Do you think I haven’t thought about this? Am I the kind of person that’s so impulsive?” Tom hissed. He squeezed his arm for a moment and then released it. “I don’t know what this is but I don’t want to lose it.”

Harry shook his head gently. “There’s nothing to lose, Tom. Even if there were, there’s nothing I could do. I can’t exactly bring you with me,” he began. 

Blue eyes widened, “You can.” Harry groaned. “Oh shush, there’s nothing that would prevent me from tagging along with you- just add the necessary adjustments to your ritual and it’d be fine.”

“You can’t be serious!” Harry cried. “Hours ago you were willing to hurt me to get information, why on earth would you want to leave everything you know to stay with me?” 

Tom smirked as he raised a dark eyebrow. “Harry, I wouldn’t have done something so crude.” Harry blinked for a second before he realised what the younger teen was implying. 

“Ugh, gross, Tom! Why would you think that’d work on me anyway? I’m straight as far as you know,” Harry hissed. 

Tom let out a snort. “I’m sure.” He said indulgently. 

Bright green eyes narrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Tom merely smirked again and lightly trailed a hand along Harry’s collarbone and pressed his palm firmly to his sternum. Harry inhaled sharply in surprise, shaking his head and scowling. “Whatever, point made. You’d still be leaving everything you know behind!” 

Tom actually rolled his eyes at this. “Ah yes, I’d be leaving a future where I turn into a child murdering snake hybrid. I can see my error now.” His sarcasm was so thick that Harry flushed a little. 

“At least think about it longer than an hour or two!” Harry couldn’t believe he was arguing with Voldemort about not sticking together. What had his life turned into? 

Tom heaved an exasperated sigh. “If that’s what you need from me.” He drawled. 

“You’re infuriating!” Harry moaned, “Give it a fortnight, _actually_ think it through. If you still want to by then… I guess you can come. Merlin, am I insane?” He rubbed his face. 

“Very well,” Tom said. “I’ll give you two weeks to get used to the idea.” He grinned sharply at the dark glare he received in return. He flicked his wand and released the silver cords around Harry’s ankles and wrists, “Much as I enjoy the sight I suppose I’ll let you go for now. See you soon, Harry.” He purred with a wicked gleam in his eyes as he slipped out the door before Harry could reply. 

“I’m going to regret everything,” the raven haired boy sighed to the empty room. “How the hell am I going to explain this one?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry there wasn’t much Sareen in this chapter! She’s going to be more prominent in the third (and hopefully last) chapter though. 
> 
> I had to go back and edit chapter one as one helpful reviewer pointed out that I’d been calling Dumbledore the headmaster when in fact it should have been Dippet while Tom’s still in school. That should be fixed now! 
> 
> Things are moving a little quickly but honestly I think that Tom would be the type to make a decision (aka that he’s into Harry) and see no reason to hold back. Also it’s hard to fit a longer, possibly more realistic progression of a relationship into such a small work without adding a billion time skips. I’m happy with the balance so hopefully you guys don’t mind it!

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this last night while I was all excited about the feedback I got on my last (and first lol) fic,,, it was meant to be another short one-shot that maybe led into smut but here we are whoops
> 
> this is going to be continued but let me know if that's something you're looking to see in this fic- i haven't decided whether or not to have some tomarry action in the next chapter or not 
> 
> thanks for sticking by to the end! hope you enjoy the story, its a little rambly but I had fun writing it haha <3


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